As a prospective law student, I hope to gain the ability to make a good, strong argument and stand behind it with facts as well as valid opinions. That’s why it dismayed me to find a fellow legal scholar in his second year of law studies who has obviously not yet developed this skill. Ronny Carny’s letter (“Cuthbertson misses target” March 22) is a misguided rant against those he feels would want to “screw the Constitution;” it is an exercise in circular logic that only ends up proving what it sets out to criticize.
Thank you, Mr. Carny, for proving my point without even knowing it. According to Carny, “It would be a lie to say that if guns weren’t easily available, the attacks probably would have still occurred and that the kids would have used wooden sticks or heavy rocks and gone of their rampage anyway.”
Carny’s entire argument rests on the supposition that since guns are only “part of the problem,” outlawing them would not help the situation. If you have a cold, when you take Tylenol you don’t eliminate the cold, but you can bring down your fever and prevent some potentially serious complications. Yes, the Tylenol does not eliminate the problem, but it makes it much harder for the cold to actually do some permanent damage. The same can be said of gun legislation; while anti-gun laws may not solve the problems this nation faces, it would make it much harder for this cold to turn into pneumonia.
Without guns, yes, these students might still go on “rampages”, but tell me Mr. Carny, would you rather be hit with a wooden stick or a bullet? I know this does not solve the problem, but it gives people the chance to solve the problem before people die. If a student beats someone up with a wooden stick, the victim might have a few bruises, but they will return to school the next day. Meanwhile, the attacker might be put in a juvenile detention center, but they will have a chance to be rehabilitated and to lead their lives. If the attacker shoots the victim, no one has a second chance. Even if the kid is as young as 10 years old, this society and its antiquated justice system will just throw the kid in jail and lock away the key.
Carny’s argument that many other potentially life-threatening products are used everyday such as “cars, electricity and bridges” is the common argument given by people who support the tobacco industry. Unlike cars, electricity and bridges, guns are meant to injure and kill people. They have no other purpose. If the purpose of a car were to mow people down on Comm. Ave., then, yes, Mr. Carny, I would be against them. Guns are specifically meant to shoot and kill. The whole argument that using products like guns “responsibly” is practically laughable. There is no way to use a gun “responsibly” (with the possible exception of hunting for food — sorry, my veggie buddies).
I was living in England when the Columbine shootings occurred. The day after the massacre, my British friends just couldn’t understand why Americans are so scared of giving up their guns. To them, it was obvious — restricting gun sales would make shootings far less frequent. What amazing logic! It may surprise you to know that in most of Europe, owning a gun is considered taboo and seriously frowned upon. According to Mr. Carny, this attitude would give rise to a nation of people abused by a tyrannical government. Boy, that Tony Blair sure is a tyrant.
So why do we need guns in our society? I am not going into the whole origins of the Second Amendment argument, but Mr. Carny, I suggest that you research a little American history before you write another ridiculous rampage.
The answer all comes down to this devotion to the Constitution and our obsessive need to feel “free.” The truth is, no one in a civilized society is totally free. We are not free to perform actions that endanger the lives of those around us. Pure freedom is pure anarchy.
I, for one, would rather live in a society that makes it more difficult for people to kill. I’ve tried to use one as a coaster, and then as a doorstop, but that damn trigger kept going off and I almost killed my roommate. If that isn’t the kind of safe civilization you want, Mr. Carny, then by all means, move to a small, unknown island in the South Pacific and start your own tribe. It can be like “Survivor” with guns. Good luck.
Joshua Kaplan CAS and COM ’00
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